There She Goes
by xAlex-Drakex
Summary: Continues where season 15 left off. Carter is back at County General as third year medical student Paige Staker begins her journey at County and he takes on the role of her mentor. Carter/OC. Please R&R and constructive criticism is much appreciated.
1. Day One

AN: This is only a working title so if anyone can suggest anything better I'm open to suggestions. Constructive criticism would be much appreciated with this fic so please R&R.

Summary: Continues when season 15 left off. Carter is back at County General as third year medical student Paige Staker begins her journey at County and he takes on the role of her mentor. Carter/OC.

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters only Dr Paige Staker.

ER - There She Goes

Chapter 1 - Day One

This was it, her first day as a doctor. Well, almost. Paige Staker could not recall the decisions that had brought her to Chicago and she didn't want to. It was in Chicago she had been accepted and began to attend med school, and where she now had been placed for her third year ER Rotation at County General Hospital. She was unsure of what to expect as she stood outside County sipping her Caramel Macchiato. Her previous placements through med school at Mercy hospital had all been in different speciality areas so she had been surprised when County had accepted her for an ER Rotation, considering it was a while since she had been in an ER. That it would be fast paced with unusual and life threatening injuries, she knew, but at the same time she was going in there completely unaware of what would happen. She gulped down the last of her coffee, straightened her blouse unnecessarily, took a deep breath and went into the ER.

Trying to appear not too shy on her first day she walked up to the first person she saw, a male doctor with red hair, and said "Hi. I'm Paige Staker I'm a third year medical student here I was told to report to Dr Carter." She smiled softly and offered a hand politely to the man.

The man accepted her hand and introduced himself. "I'm Dr Archie Morris, an attending here in the ER. Dr Carter is running a trauma at the moment but if you come with me I'll get you a white coat and show you where your locker is."

"Thank you." Paige smiled warmly and continued. "I didn't think students got white coats, I thought we wore scrubs, that's mostly what I wore at Mercy." She sounded perplexed.

"That's a frequent misconception." He explained as they walked. "It's really each to their own. Personally I prefer to wear scrubs under my lab coat, others prefer to wear shirts and trousers under theirs. However I would advise you to keep a few sets of scrubs in your locker, you never know when you're going to need a change of clothes around here." Morris grinned, most likely at some memory of a situation where the spare scrubs were necessary.

"Thank you." She replied again, thinking how lame she must sound for saying the same thing over and over.

"You're welcome. Believe me, it is good advice. This . . ." He said opening the door and ushering her into the room, "Is the Doctor's Lounge. Lockers are over here, what did you say your surname was again?" Morris frowned as he locked along the row of lockers.

"Staker." Paige reminded him gently.

"Ah, here you are." He said as he found her locker. "The key is in the padlock, don't loose it. The combination will be set at 1-2-3 once you enter that you should be able to change it to a combination of your choice.

She moved towards the locker, standing alongside Morris. She unlocked the padlock and entered the default combination and it popped open. She placed her bag inside before sliding off her jacket and placing it inside.

"Would you like me to find you some scrubs to put in there?" He asked her kindly.

"If it's not too much trouble." She shrugged.

"Not at all. Will the small size fit you?" He asked, eyeing her petite frame.

"Yes thanks. Is it okay if I make a coffee?" She found herself saying, despite the fact she had consumed a large cup little over ten minutes ago.

"Sure. Use my mug. People around here are very particular about their mugs. I'd advise you to bring one. Mines is the black one with green spots and I'll find Carter for you too while I'm gone." He called back over his shoulder as he went out the door.

Paige found the mug Morris had told her to use, poured the coffee and sipped the hot liquid slowly. It seemed to soothe her nerves. Minutes later the door opened and a good looking doctor holding some scrubs entered. He had chocolate brown eyes, thick messy brown hair, a gorgeous smile and a hint of stubble present on his features.

"Hey I'm Dr John Carter. Call me Carter, everyone else does." He grinned and held a hand out for her to shake.

She took his hand immediately. "Paige Staker." She introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you Paige. Morris asked me to give these to you, one of his patients went into arrest." He explained while handing the scrubs to the younger girl.

"Thanks." She accepted the scrubs Carter handed her, flashing him a smile before turning to place Morris' mug in the sink. She crossed the room quickly, stuffing the scrubs in her locker, slamming it shut, popping the padlock back in place and slipping the key into her trouser pocket. She would change the combination later.

"Ready for the grand tour?" Carter questioned with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Morris said something about a lab coat?" She asked hesitantly, not wanting to sound too pushy.

"We'll pick it up on the way." He told her softly, guiding her out of the room with a hand on the small of her back.

He struck Paige to be a very charming man, easygoing and friendly. She hoped to be able to impress him and the other doctors as she was taught new skills. However she knew this would take time and she would have to be conscientious and hardworking if she were to stand out from the other med students.

"This is the desk, essentially the central point of the ER, pick up and drop off charts here, order tests, where you'll find the nurses, most likely gossiping along with Morris he's the biggest gossip in the hospital! Jerry, have you got a lab coat and stethoscope there for Dr Staker, I ordered them last week?" He asked the desk clerk.

"Got them here Carter." Jerry confirmed, momentarily disappearing behind the desk then reappearing moments later holding a lab coat and stethoscope towards Paige.

"Thanks." Paige grinned as she took the lab coat from Jerry and slipped it on she then took the stethoscope and slung it round her neck.

"All set?" He asked.

"Yep." She grinned, admiring her lab coat. She'd never had a lab coat before.

"It suits you." Carter grinned as he watched her.

Paige blushed. "Thanks." She said quickly and immediately stopped looking at her lab coat.

He chuckled softly and shook his head. "On with the tour."

They began to walk and as they went along Carter would point out people whose names she would never remember.

"These are the trauma rooms where we bring the most critical cases that arrive at the ER such as gun shot wounds, stabbings, cardiac arrests and sometimes if a case is really critical an emergency surgery will take place in the trauma rooms. Okay, everyone in there is busy I'll introduce you to them later and we'll move onto curtains.

As Carter led her away to curtains she tried to make a mental note of everything he told her about trauma rooms and before she knew it he was speaking again.

"This is the curtain area where we bring the less critical patients, those who are waiting for x-rays or tests to be run, that kind of thing. Hey Gates." He called as he spotted another man.

The man went over to meet them. He looked about Carter's age with brown hair and blue eyes but slightly shorter and more built than him.

"This is Dr Tony Gates, known as just Gates by most. He's your go to guy if you cant find me or Morris, he's a resident here. Gates this is our new third year med student Paige Staker."

Gates smiled. "Hi, I'm really busy just now but we can talk later if you like?"

"I was thinking Doc Magoo's." Carter chimed in before she could reply.

"Sounds good to me, maybe shoot a few hoops to initiate the newbie? Bye guys." Gates said and then ran off.

She frowned and Carter noticed her expression.

"Don't worry about it, he's really a great guy we're just busy and understaffed. Besides we play basketball to blow off steam, it would be an ideal time for you to get to know the gang."

"It will be good to get to know everyone but I'm not sure if I'll be any good at basketball." She raised an eyebrow.

"Who cares, a lot of us suck anyway." He offered with a shrug.

She broke into a smile. "I'll play. But you need to show me the rest of the ER I'm not going to be a good doctor if all I do is play basketball."

"Sure you will, they just don't tell you that in Med School." He retorted playfully.

Paige couldn't keep the grin form her face.

AN: I've tweaked this slightly just to reflect the fact that Paige is a third year med student as opposed to an intern. When I began writing this story I didn't realise the difference but people who have reviewed brought it up so I hope this reads better now. Thanks to those who flagged it up!


	2. Trauma One

AN: Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! It means a lot to me. This chapter ended up a lot longer than I intended but I hope you enjoy it!

Constructive criticism would be much appreciated as I want to improve this story so please R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters only Dr Paige Staker.

There She Goes

Chapter 2 - Trauma One

"How's the first day going?" Morris asked casually as he dropped down on the sofa next to Paige.

"Slowly." She replied monotonously closing her eyes and massaging her temples with her fingertips.

It had been a particularly slow morning in the ER with the Residents snapping up all the interesting cases before the students could get a look in. Which was why Paige had retreated to the Doctor's Lounge to consume yet another cup of coffee.

"You know coffee kills you're brain cells with excessive consumption?" Morris raised an eyebrow as he saw the cup on the table in front of her.

"Doesn't stop you from drinking it does it?" She replied off-handed, eyes still closed.

He shook his head, surprised she had answered him back. Usually they didn't have the guts.

"So . . . Where's Carter?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"I don't know he told me he'd come and get me if a good case came in. And why did you say it like that?" She said suspiciously, her eyes flying open and setting her stern glare on Morris.

"Like what?" He asked innocently, as if she were accusing him of a crime.

"Like you're making out there's more to the situation than there is." She stated simply, still glaring at him.

"So, there isn't?" He retorted cheekily, with a glint in his eye.

"Of course not he's my teacher!" She hissed angrily looking appalled.

"I saw you flirting with him in curtains earlier." Morris wouldn't let it go.

"I was NOT flirting. Besides, it's against the rules." She frowned.

"Since when was flirting against the rules?!" He effortlessly twisted her words, keeping up the game he was playing.

"Student - Teacher relationships!" Paige yelled angrily, jumping to her feet.

"God Paige! You're one of those cases that gives proof to the theory that interns are east to wind up." Morris laughed softly.

"That's not funny. I barely know Carter, I'm not that kind of girl." She said softly, turning away to avoid his gaze.

"Paige." He whispered her name softly.

She turned around slowly and saw that Morris now stood next to her. She looked up to him with her gentle green eyes, waiting expectantly.

"I didn't mean to upset you, it was just a laugh. I'm sorry." He offered his apology carefully.

"Apology accepted. And, I'm sorry if I was cheeky to you earlier . . . About the coffee." She offered a gentle smile.

"Why don't we forget about the whole thing, eh?" He gently bumped his shoulder against hers as he spoke.

"What thing?" She played dumb.

"Do you know, I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." Morris said.

"Provided you don't tease me about sordid affairs with colleagues." She replied cockily with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's having a sordid affair with who?" Came a voice from the door. Paige and Morris turned to the door and saw Carter. "No-one!" They yelled in unison, sharing a shifty glance.

"Okay," Carter began hesitantly as he picked up on the tension present in the room, "There's a GSW incident coming in any minute, one major, one minor. You coming?" He asked her.

"Sure." She replied and made to follow Carter out of the room as another doctor rushed into the room.

"Morris your cardiac patient is crashing again. Julia Wise." She introduced herself quickly as she noticed Paige.

"Paige Staker." She gushed as she sidled round the slightly older girl then rushing to catch up with Carter.

"Nice of you to join me Dr Staker." He threw sarcastically as she reached his side. "Now the major is a good chance for you to practice intubation, you intubated before?" He asked as they walked to the ambulance bay.

"I've only trained in speciality areas it had always been done for me. I've extubated though." She added, not wanting to sound completely incompetent.

"Really?" Carter asked surprised and was met by Paige's enthusiastic nod as they snapped on the gloves Chuny handed them.

"Have you done sutures before?" He fired another question at the young doctor.

"Yes, a few times." She answered quickly, pulling on the disposable gown.

"Good if the minor needs any sutures you can deal with that. Don't worry I'll supervise." He added as he saw the look of alarm on her face.

"Thank-God." She muttered, quickly becoming overwhelmed before the trauma had even arrived.

"I'm not always going to be there to hold your hand." Carter gave her a quick reality check, evidently having overheard her comment.

"I know." She replied almost in a whisper as she glanced over to Carter. Her gentle green eyes met his soft brown ones and he had a reassuring smile present on his face. Paige managed a small smile back.

"I'm here for you now. Make the most of it." He told her sincerely, not once taking his eyes from hers. Carter had not noticed her simple beauty until now as she stood before him clad in latex gloves and a disposable gown. His gaze locked with hers.

She was small and slim, her stomach protruding slightly most likely due to rubbishy foods. Students could never afford healthy food. Her tousled blondey-brown hair brushed off her shoulders and her long side fringe fell over her right eye, those lovely green eyes. And her lips formed a gentle smile. She was far from the media image of 'perfect' but to Carter she was pretty.

"ETA?" Paige asked softly breaking Carter from his thoughts.

"Um . . ." He frowned as he realised he had no idea.

"One minute." Chuny quickly supplied for him as she gowned up.

"I don't think all that coffee has helped your nerves." Carter remarked as he saw her draw a shaky breath.

"I feel sick." She replied looking visibly paler.

"Calm down." He murmured softly. "Take a deep breath and take things as they come."

She took a long deep breath and exhaled slowly as the first ambulance pulled up.

"Gunshot wound to the shoulder and abdomen, in a critical condition. Massive blood loss, two units of O neg. administered in the field. Internal bleeding highly likely." The EMT called out clearly as they wheeled the patient from the vehicle.

"Our next moves Dr Staker?" Carter asked as they helped Chuny and the EMT transfer the patient to the trauma room.

"If the airway is clear I'd say intubate, get an EKG and BP, an ultrasound to determine if there's any internal bleeding and I think order four units of O neg. with the amount of blood loss the patient has sustained there won't be sufficient time to run a cross match." She finished looking at Carter expectantly.

"Good. Anything else?" He prompted.

"Um." She screwed her face up in concentration, wracking her brain for something she could have missed. "I don't know." She sighed in defeat.

In cases like this, gang bangers I mean, it's always wise to run a tox screen. You'll see with experience that drugs are usually involved in these cases and we'll want to make sure to give them medicines that combat the effects of the drugs, not react with them and make their condition worse." He informed her.

"Okay." She replied gloomily.

"Don't beat yourself up you did great for a first try. Come and stand close we need to intubate, now!" Carter told her, pulling her with him.

"Our policy on intubation is see one, do one, teach one. I show you how to do it this time, you do the next one and the next available opportunity you show someone else how to do one. Got it?" He fired quickly.

"Got it." She nodded with a small smile.

"Stay close okay." Carter beckoned her closer and they both bent over the patients head. "You have to visualise the vocal chords, making sure you don't actually end up in the oesophagus. Take a deep breath and hold it in while you do it. If you run out of air, then you're taking too long. I'm in bag him and hyperventilate him." He said as he gently pulled out the laryngoscope, leaving the tube in the patients throat.

"You made that look easy." Paige gushed, blushing the minute the words had escaped her mouth.

"Well I've got fifteen years experience on you, I've intubated thousands of times." He smiled widely, showing his perfect teeth.

Paige grinned back and managed to smile even wider as Carter helped her start the IV. After a few attempts she managed to get the IV in.

"Carter, we got internal bleeding." Sam said calmly.

"Damn! Someone call for a surgical consult?" He asked, a frown visible on his features.

"On the way." Sam confirmed. "And the O neg. is here."

"Lets get that blood going, he cant afford to lose any more if we've got any chance of saving him."

"BP's dropping." Paige sounded worried.

"We gotta get him up to an OR. Sam call up, tell them we've got a GSW to the abdomen and shoulder, no exit wounds and massive blood loss." He called as they proceeded to wheel him to the elevator.

"Paige when I come back you're gonna suture the minor and then see if you can ID this one." He nodded to the man in the bed.

They bumped into Anspaugh as they pushed the bed into the elevator. "I take it this was the patient that needed the surgical consult?" He asked.

"Yeah, he needs to go to the OR now if he's gonna live. We just called up the OR should be getting prepped." Carter informed him.

Anspaugh nodded in agreement. "I'll take it from here Dr Carter." He took the IV from Paige and the elevator doors pinged shut.

"You handled that very well, never got too overwhelmed. I must admit I was concerned about how anxious you were before the trauma arrived. You did well getting the IV in too. I remember my first IV, I treated the patient like a pincushion." He laughed gently as he finished her feedback.

Paige grinned. "I had the advantage that my patient was unconscious. Had my patient been conscious I would have probably caused a lot of discomfort."

"Maybe that would have been the case but this is something you learn by experience, you wont improve any from studying. Don't get me wrong though studying is crucial for a lot of cases and you won't get to where I am without hours of hard studying. Anyway you did really well today it was a really bloody trauma and many interns in your position would either have felt sick or been sick." He informed her matter-of-fact as they headed towards chairs to find the minor GSW victim.

"Thanks." She said gratefully before scanning chairs for their patient. "Are you the other gunshot wound victim?" She asked softly as she saw a man clutching a wade of gauze to his arm.

"Yes. How is Paul?" He asked concerned.

"You know him? What's his name?" She asked.

"His name is Paul Hastings, he's my brother. I'm David Hastings." He told them.

"I'm Dr Staker and this is Dr Carter." She gestured to Carter with her hand. "Can you come with us and show us your injuries so we can assess the damage?"

"Please, how is my brother?" He asked looking extremely upset.

She looked helplessly at Carter, pleading silently for him to help her.

"Mr Hastings your brother has sustained very serious injuries and he's lost a lot of blood. Dr Staker and I have done all we can to help Paul, he's up in the OR now where they'll remove the bullets and try to repair the internal damage, but it's touch and go I'm afraid." He chose his words carefully and was sensitive to David's feelings, something Paige still had to learn.

"Thank-you Doctor. He's just gone off the rails it's getting harder and harder to keep him on a good path." David sighed. "Is that how you got caught up in the gunfire, trying to protect your brother?" She asked, her facial expression gentle.

David nodded, a solitary tear rolling down his cheek.

"Why don't you come with us and we'll patch you up?" Carter asked sympathetically.

He nodded again allowing the two Doctor's to lead him to the suture room to assess his condition.

"Thank you." She murmured to Carter as they cleaned and sterilised the wound on David's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Today is your first day you'll soon be able to deal with situations like this easily and be empathetic to the patients feelings. It's something else that you'll only pick up from experience." He whispered softly.

"Any other wounds Mr Hastings?" She asked gently.

"No, this was the only one." He said quietly.

"Then you've been very lucky you're only going to need a few stitches." She said gravely.

"I know. But everything is not going to be okay unless Paul is alright." He said miserably.

"Mr Hastings Paul has the best surgeons in the area working on him and as soon as I've got Dr Staker started here I'm gonna check on his progress for you." Carter told him with a small smile.

"Thank you. You're both so kind." David said sincerely to them.

"We just want everything to work out okay for you Mr Hastings." Paige said sadly.

"Please, call me David." He said quietly.

"In that case, I'm Paige and this is John." She introduced them by their first names and the three of them managed a small smile.

David fell silent as Carter gave his young intern instructions.

"You irrigate the wound by injecting it at either side." He demonstrated on one side of the wound. "Now you try." He instructed her. She copied him exactly, only on the other side of the wound.

"Good. Now the wound is clean, no risk of infection you can start stitching it up, I'd say between three and four stitches would do the trick. I'm gonna check on Paul." He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze which she returned with a smile and he left.

"You a student?" David asked as she began to pull the wound together with surgical thread.

"Yes. This is my first day on the ER internship. Two years and I graduate and become a proper doctor." She said as she concentrated on completing the stitches neatly.

"You're obviously a good student then, otherwise Dr Carter wouldn't have left you here alone." He reasoned.

"I guess so." She contemplated. Had Carter really seen enough of her ability to leave her unsupervised? She finished the sutures silently and when Carter returned five minutes later he fund her waiting outside the suture room.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey yourself." He said light-heartedly with a small smile.

"How is he?" Her voice cracked unintentionally as she asked.

"They got the bullets out, but he's unconscious. He's in a stable but critical condition but maybe this will be the wake up call he needs to pull his life together. He said honestly.

Paige sighed heavily and slumped against the wall, running a hand through her tousled hair. "Is life always this screwed up?" She asked, her big green eyes staring innocently into Carter's.

"Honestly you see a lot of this kind of thing down here and I'd be lying if I said you get used to it. But you do have to learn to deal with it. You've just got to have a bit of faith in yourself." He told her genuinely.

She laugher gently. "I'm being so stupid already you're going to be sick of me by the end of this week, never mind two more years."

"Don't be stupid that's what I'm here for, to help you grow as a doctor. You've still got a long way to go. Besides if I get too sick of you I'll pawn you off on Morris." He joked as he leaned on the wall next to her, studying her expression.

"You better tell David how his brother is." She mumbled, nodding towards the door.

He nodded. "Meet me in Curtain Three, there's a six year old with a dislocated shoulder."

Wordlessly she tuned to leave when Carter caught her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. They smiled at each other.

"Curtain Three." She confirmed softly as her hand slid out of Carter's.

Before going to Curtain Three she went to the Doctor's Lounge.

"You're not going to get more coffee are you?!" She heard Morris call as she pushed open the door of the lounge.

"No." She shook her head amused. Over excessive coffee consumption would forever be the subject of jokes between them. She grabbed a full bottle of water from the fridge, took a long sip and before replacing it in the fridge she pulled a pen from her lab coat scrawling 'Paige' on the label. She then headed to curtains.

"Hello I'm Dr Staker, Dr Carter will be joining us in a moment" She shook hands with the young girls mother.

"May Whitmore." She will be okay won't she?" She gazed at her daughter nervously.

"Of course she will. I'm just going to get her some Tylenol for the pain and we'll have her fixed up in no time." Paige told the girls mother confidently before turning to the girl. "Hi angel, what's your name?"

"Bella." She sniffed, having only recently stopped crying.

"Hi Bella I'm Paige. I'm going to get you something for the pain do you think you could be a big brave girl for me for a little while longer?" She asked gently bending down level with Bella.

The little girl nodded, trying to look brave.

"Great I'll be right back." She stroked the girls long blonde hair softly before departing.

"Hey Morris, where do we keep the Tylenol?" She asked as she reached the desk, where he was sat.

"C'mon I'll show you." He jumped up from his chair, grabbing her hand an pulling her towards the store cupboard.

"We keep most things in here." He told her as he yanked the door open. "Kid or adult?" Morris asked, hand hovering between two boxes.

"Kid." Paige confirmed and he threw her the box, which she caught.

"Good catch." He observed. "You having a better day now?" He asked as they walked back.

"From a medical point of view, yeah. I got to help in a really bloody trauma and suture the minor but there was a really sad story behind it all." She frowned.

"There nearly always is down here." He matched her frown as they stopped at the desk.

"I better get on. Carter's waiting for me." She held up the Tylenol in her hand.

"See you." He mumbled, taking his seat behind the desk to wait for the next trauma.

"I thought I should get some Tylenol." She explained as she joined Carter beside the bed.

"You thought right." He smiled taking the box from Paige and administering some to the little girl.

"Bella," Paige began, crouching down so she was on eye level with the girl. "We're going to wait for the medicine to sink in and then John and I are going to make your arm all better, okay?" She asked, using language the small girl would understand.

Bella nodded and managed a nervous smile.

"We'll be back in five or ten minutes." Carter told her mother as Paige stood up beside him.

"Thank-you so much Doctor's." May smiled, much more at ease now she saw the pain medication admitted to her daughter was beginning to take effect.

Carter led his student away with a hand on the small of her back. "You're good with children. It doesn't come naturally with all doctors." He commented as they walked.

"Thanks. My parents wanted me to be a teacher but medicine was my passion so I moved to Chicago so they couldn't influence my decisions anymore." She explained, crossing her arms over her body.

"It must have been hard moving here when you didn't know anyone."

She smiled. "I won't lie to you it was hard. I was eighteen years old and I had to work part time to pay rent as well as working to get into college. I did manage to put myself through college but I owe an absolute fortune in loans. But I got to where I am now all on my own which gives me a certain level of satisfaction and I've been in Chicago for a while now so I have close friends here."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He found himself asking.

"No, not anymore. He was at college with me, a few years above me but he moved to New York because he got a really great job. He did ask me to go with him but I had to finish my training. It was one of he hardest decisions I've ever had to make but we parted on good terms which made things easier." She shrugged.

"I was just curious." He said quickly.

"I've never had the impression that Attendings and Interns were so well acquainted." She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow as they walked slowly out to the ambulance bay.

Carter smiled. "I like to get well acquainted with my students. I was good friends with my mentors when I was an intern."

"Fair enough, but this is only the first day of my internship. We have plenty of time to get to know each other." She smiled softly.

"You and Morris were getting on well." He observed with a slightly accusing tone to his voice.

"It just happened to be he was the first person I met here and we shared a few jokes but we're far from best friends. Everyone her seems really close though and I hope in time we'll have that same closeness." She finished pulling her lab coat tightly around her body.

"Are you cold?" He asked as he saw her actions.

"A little. I should have lifted my cardigan from the lounge." She shrugged.

"We'll be going in, in a moment anyway to fix the little girls arm. I'll pop it back into place this time, you'll have to hold her still." He explained their course of action.

"I can do that." Paige replied confidently.

"Hold her firmly but gently I don't want to have to pull at the poor girls arm for the whole afternoon. Ideally it should only take a few tries. Remind me what specialties you've done." He asked curiously.

"Mostly Pedes. Also I've done basic surgery as an elective like tracheotomies and cut downs." She told him as they leaned against the wall simultaneously.

"Well the basic surgery you've done is mostly what an ER Doc needs for emergencies so unless you're planning on being a surgeon you won't have much more to learn in that field. You enjoy pedes?" He enquired curiously.

"I loved it, I really did. I'm very fond of children so it did come quite naturally to me. I wanted to work in the ER though, so I couldn't continue with pedes. It wouldn't have been practical." Carter noticed her avoidance of eye contact as she finished.

"You know you could still do pedes within the ER. Years ago I had a friend in here, Doug Ross, he was a pedes ER Doc so it is possible to combine the two."

"Really?" She looked up, sounding hopeful.

"We can look into it for next year if it's still what you want but for now I think we should wait and see how you get on." He told her honestly.

"Sounds good to me." She agreed, nodding her head.

"Good. Lets go and fix little Bella's arm." He pushed himself of the wall and headed inside. She followed.

"Hey Bella. How do you feel now?" Paige asked as she felt the girls forehead.

"Better." She smiled.

"Temp's. normal. We should be able to pull the bone back into place now." She removed her hand from the girls forehead.

"Good. You hold onto her for me, firm but gentle around her waist. Mom you can hold her other hand." He smiled at the girls mother and she moved closer to take her daughters hand.

"Paige you HAVE to keep a firm hold. I'm going to hold Bella's upper arm in both hands and pull as hard as I can to get it back into place. Hopefully I can get it in first try to minimise her pain."

She nodded in agreement, wrapping her arms around the little girls waist and hugging her close to her body. Carter gave an almighty pull and Bella screamed bloody murder.

"Got it!" He grinned triumphantly.

She let go of Bella and allowed her to hug her mother, he held up a hand and they high-fived. "Well done." She grinned.

"Come on." He slung an arm around her shoulder leading her away from Curtains.

"Do you trust me?" He asked gently as he ushered her along the corridor and into the Doctor's Lounge.

They stopped and stared each other in the eyes, green meeting brown.

"Yes." She whispered.

"Then ditch your lab coat, close your eyes and take my hand." He whispered back.

Paige opened her mouth to protest before shaking her head with a smile and threw her lab coat and stethoscope onto the sofa, held out her hand to Carter and closed her eyes.

Moments later she felt Carter's soft, warm hand slide into hers and they started walking.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Shhh!" Came his reply and they continued walking until they were outside. Carter let go of her hand and pushed something into her hands.

"Basketball! Are you kidding me Carter it's freaking freezing?!" Paige yelled angrily, a sour look present on her face.

"No I'm not." He replied calmly. "Keep your eyes closed and follow the sound of my voice. Now throw!" He exclaimed.

She immediately threw it upwards in the direction of Carter's voice, praying the ball didn't smack him in the face.

"Open you eyes." He said softly.

She opened her eyes and sighed with relief. Carter had caught the ball. "It went in the basket?" She asked stunned.

"No you missed by miles. I just managed to catch the ball, try again." He threw the ball back to her with a smirk.

Paige caught the ball and immediately threw it back to Carter, catching him off guard and winding him.

"That's what you get for mocking my attempt at basketball." She added grinning triumphantly as he held his hand up in surrender.

"I'll get you back for that later!" Carter muttered under his breath, clutching his stomach as he watched her strut back inside.


	3. Night Fever

AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter written. Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added the story to their alerts/favourite list. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters only Dr Paige Staker.

There She Goes

Chapter 3 - Night Fever

Paige groaned loudly as her cell phone began to vibrate. It had been two months since her first day at County and she was finally catching up on some sleep. She propped herself up on her elbows and glanced at her alarm clock. "2.00am" She grabbed her cell and flipped it open.

"Hello." She unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn.

"Paige? It's Carter." He began.

"What?!" She spat more angrily than she intended.

"One of the residents is sick and we could really use an extra pair of hands down here, please?" He begged.

"What? Now?" She whined, sitting up properly in bed, rubbing her tired eyes.

"yes. Come on you know I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate." He pleaded with her over the phone.

"I hate you." Paige stated simply with another yawn.

"Is the a yes with that 'I hate you'?" He asked hopefully.

She sighed loudly and gave in. "Well it's not like I'm going to leave you stranded."

"Paige, thank-you. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He grinned down the phone.

"I'll hold you to that." She muttered as she hung up the phone.

Half an hour later Paige arrived at the hospital and found Carter waiting for her in the ambulance bay.

"Hey." He flashed her a charming smile.

"I thought you said we were busy." She raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Hi Carter, how are you this fine morning?" He mocked.

"Carter I'm not in the mood for jokes." She told him as they headed inside.

"It was busy, things have calmed down a bit now. But there's still a lot of patients." He informed her.

"Okay." She ran a hand through her hair which was straight, unlike it's normal tousled state. "I need a shit load of coffee and some make-up from my locker." The pair headed for the Doctor's Lounge.

"Great outfit by the way." Carter smirked. "Totally suitable work attire." He finished sarcastically.

She was dressed in a white tank top, which Carter noted was VERY see through, a denim pencil skirt which stopped above her knees, a black leather jacket and a pair of black pumps. Her softly tanned legs were exposed and her blondey-brown hair was longer than Carter had ever seen it.

"Well if you hadn't called me in I was going to iron trousers or a skirt in the morning. Thanks to you I didn't have time." She snapped as she tossed her leather jacket and her bag in her locker, trading it for her lab coat and pulled out a small make-up bag. "Do me a favour and stick on some coffee. Please." She added as an afterthought.

Carter busied himself making a pot of coffee. "Your hair looks longer. It's pretty." He commented. "Thanks, it is longer. I prefer it longer." She managed a smile at his complement. She could never stay mad at Carter that long.

"Which other attending is on tonight?" She asked as she gently rubbed a tinted moisturiser on her face.

"Brenner." He replied as he poured her a large cup of coffee in he Harry Potter mug.

"Oh no! Brenner hates me." She frowned, hoping Morris had been the other attending on that night.

"How do you take your coffee?"

"Milky, three sugars." She swiftly applied black mascara to her long eyelashes.

"So not only do you need a caffeine boost but a sugar boost as well." He quipped as he stirred the sugar into her cup.

"Carter you know I'm severely lacking sleep at the moment, this is the only way I'll stay awake." She brushed her long fringe out of her eyes as she replaced her make-up bag in her locker and collected her stethoscope.

"Catch." Carter told her as she sat back down on the sofa and tossed something to her, which she caught. A large bar of milk chocolate. "I was saving it for later but since you're so amazing coming in when you're so tired you can have it." He told her sincerely.

"How about we share it?" She asked and patted the seat on the sofa next to her.

Carter sat down beside her and placed her coffee on the table in front of them as Paige broke into the chocolate bar. She put the chocolate in his lap and retrieved her coffee, taking a long sip. She slipped her black pumps off her feet, curling up on the sofa and resting her head on Carter's shoulder. He stole a sip of her coffee and passed her some chocolate.

"Thank-you." She grinned and bit into the chocolate enthusiastically, making him smile.

"What?" She demanded softly as she noticed Carter's expression.

"Nothing." He gave a gentle laugh and shook his head.

"No really?" She pressed, her head still resting against his shoulder.

"I like your toes." He lied and gestured to her toenails which were painted a soft sparkly pink.

She blushed. "My fingernails match." She flashed one hand in front of his face and took a long sip of coffee.

He stole the mug from her and took a sip of the hot sweet liquid before speaking. "I have a dinner, a kind of gala thing at the Carter Center next week. Come, as my date." He finished softly.

"I thought student-teacher relationships were against the rules." She stole her mug back.

"They are. It would be a friend date, I want you to come. No-one else." He gazed down at her, she looked up from his shoulder.

"I'd love to." She admitted softly.

"Great." He grinned wrapping one arm around her shoulders and stealing the coffee once more with her free hand.

"And don't think you asking me is making up for dragging me out of bed tonight." She warned as she settled comfortably against his body.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He countered, rubbing his tired eyes on his arm. He took another sip of the coffee, trying to stay awake. "Hey Paige you better take this before I drink it all." He rubbed her shoulders gently but found she had already drifted off at this side.

He smiled softly as he stared down at her young peaceful face and decided to let her stay asleep pressed against his body. He couldn't begrudge her fifteen or twenty minutes of sleep he thought as he drained the mug, intending to stay awake himself to wake her if there was an emergency. However things didn't go to plan as he also fell asleep, arms wrapped around Paige.

* * *

After two patients had crashed and stabilised an annoyed Simon Brenner began to look for Carter. "Haleh I don't suppose you know where Dr Carter is?" He asked slumping against the desk, rubbing his weary eyes.

"Last I saw of him he was headed to the lounge with Dr Staker." She replied.

"Thanks Haleh." He flashed her a quick smile before heading to the lounge to yell at Carter for leaving him in the lurch to chat with his intern.

As he pushed the door open he grinned, surprised at the sight that met him. Carter and young intern Paige were curled up on thee battered old sofa, arms tangled around each others bodies. Unable to wipe the smile off his face he whipped his cell from his lab coat pocket and took a picture of the sleeping doctors. He would use it to torment Paige later because she kept messing up during his trauma's and because she just made it so easy. He smirked again and took a moment to compose himself before waking Carter.

"Simon?" He croaked, his throat dry.

"Hi mate you fell asleep and we had a couple of crashers, I could do with all hands on deck." Brenner whispered.

"Yeah sorry. I'm coming." He gently slid into a seating position, careful not to wake Paige.

"You better wake her." Brenner nodded to Paige. "She and I don't get on very well."

"So I've heard. " He laughed. "She really is a great girl, and a great doctor. She's only been here two you need to give her more of a chance to prove herself." He tried to reason with him.

Brenner shrugged and after grabbing a cup of coffee left the lounge.

"Paige." Carter whispered, gently shaking her sleeping form. She moaned gently and eventually opened her eyes.

"Oh my god I fell asleep!" She groaned as Carter helped her pull herself into a seating position.

"Correction. WE fell asleep." He told her as she combed through her hair with her fingers.

"Come on, Brenner needs a few pairs extra hands." He stood up and pulled her to her feet. She slipped into her black pumps.

"Need coffee!" She moaned whisking up her Harry Potter mug, pouring a cup of black coffee and following Carter out of the lounge.

"Well now that Sleeping Beauty is finally awake we can get on with some work." Brenner directed his comment at her and she threw him a disdainful look.

Brenner continued. "There's a drunk nineteen year old boy in Exam Three in need of sobering up and treated for first degree burns on his left arm. One of his more drunk friends set his jumper alight with a cigarette lighter. Do you think your intern could handle that Dr Carter?" He shot Paige a look of unadulterated loathing.

"Without a doubt. Besides, she'll be supervised by me the entire time." Carter said calmly, laying a hand gently on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Once you've dealt with that there's an eight year old boy in Curtain One who needs a lumbar puncture. Should provide a good teaching case. That's it." He finished and with a smirk at Paige he stalked off to deal with another patient.

She sighed frustrated as she watched Brenner's retreating figure. "That man really does have it in for me."

Carter grinned and began to lead her away with a hand on the small of her back. She frowned and allowed her feet to carry her to where Carter was leading her making a mental note of things she could do to stop Brenner from despising her so.

"Ignore him." He said gently.

"But . . ." She began to protest.

He stopped them in their tracks and held her by the shoulders. She flinched a little and sloshed coffee on the floor. "Don't act like a petulant child it's not worth it. He's looking for you to prove yourself but you're just TOO. DAMN. STUBBORN." He put particular emphasis on the last three words.

She frowned but continued to stare intently into his eyes.

"But that's one of the things I love about you." He whispered incredibly softly.

Her lips parted into a gentle 'o' shape and she let out a shaky breath. She slid down the wall, out of his grip and placed her coffee cup on the floor before standing up and wrapping her arms tightly around Carter. It was the only restraint stopping her from kissing him full on the mouth. He wrapped his arms around her in response giving a soft chuckle.

"Thank-you." She squeaked, burying her head into his shoulder.

"You're welcome." He chuckled again as they slowly released each other. "Feeling better now?" He gently brushed her fringe from her face.

She nodded and smiled as convincingly as possible as they headed to Exam Three.

"I'm Dr Carter, this is Dr Staker. What's you're name?" He introduced them to the patient as they entered the room.

"Peter." He grinned drunkenly.

"How you doin'?" He asked as he saw Paige emerge from behind Carter.

"I'm fine thank-you but evidently you've been taking flirting tips from 'Friends'." She grinned.

"You're beautiful Doc." He swayed unsteadily on his feet and Carter lunged forward to steady him.

"Thank-you." She grinned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

Carter shook his head as he hauled Peter back onto the bed and she was sure she heard him mutter "You're unbelievable!"

As Peter started to throw up into the basin that presumably one of the nurses had given him, Paige discreetly gave Carter a kick up the ass.

"Ow! How did you manage that your skirt is way too tight for you to be able to kick me?!" He accused, eyeing her denim skirt.

She tapped her nose twice before countering. "You been checking me out?" She grinned playfully.

"No!" He scoffed. Though truthfully he had been, as he remembered observing her see through top. He cleared his throat loudly and averted his gaze from her. "Anyway we'll administer a banana bag, just start it like a regular IV. We give a banana bag to every drunk that comes in here. Clean and dress the burn and get him some coffee to sober him up." He explained.

"Oh crap I left my mug in the corridor!" She exclaimed remembering her mug at the mention of coffee.

"What are you willing to bet that Brenner knocks it over?" Carter joked.

"Not funny!" She frowned at the thought of Brenner kicking the mug and smashing it. "I'm going to get it I'll be back in a minute." She whispered determinedly. Sticking her head out of the door she peered up and down the long corridor in search of Brenner. Once satisfied he wasn't there she ran the short length down the corridor and retrieved the mug from where she had left it and swiftly deposited it in the lounge, collecting another cup of coffee to use as an alibi should she bump into Brenner.

"Hey Peter I brought you some coffee." She handed the nineteen year old the mug as she rejoined him and Carter in Exam Three.

"Thank-you." The boy managed a small smile as he gratefully accepted the cup from Paige.

"Get the banana bag going first." He instructed her and commenced with his other instructions as she began to insert the needle into a vein on Peter's arm. "We're gonna want to sterilise that burn, it doesn't look like any of the material has fused to the skin so that's lucky. Then we'll put a dressing on it and give him a date for a follow up exam in about a week." He examined the burn closely.

"What will I clean it with, a saline solution?" She enquired as she finished working on the banana bag and bent closer to look at the burn.

"Precisely. I'll go grab some from the cupboard and get you a dressing to save you a possible run in with Brenner." He grinned knowingly.

"My hero." She threw back sarcastically with a grin as he backed out of the room.

"Is that Doctor your boyfriend?" Peter asked in between sips of coffee.

"Who, Carter?" She laughed. "No he's just my teacher and I suppose I could call him my friend. But that's all."

"Oh." He said simply and let the matter drop.

Paige frowned. She knew she would have to be very careful how she acted around Carter if people were starting to pick up on the crush she had in him.

"Here you go." Carter returned and passed her the saline, some swabs to clean the burn and a dressing.

She accepted them silently and began to clean the wound with the solution. She tried to remain calm as she finished cleaning the burn and began dressing it. She could feel his gaze on her and felt slightly awkward at their closeness, even if it was strictly business.

"Good girl." He smiled as she finished the dressing. "You should stay here for another hour of so to sober up properly and come back in a week for a follow up exam on the burn." He instructed Peter.

"Thanks Doc." Peter managed small smile.

"You're welcome. If you're going to drink underage again please make sure you don't get drunk!" Paige said with a raised eyebrow.

"Please! You're barely legal yourself and I bet you anything you drank underage when you were in college." He pointed out causing Carter to laugh.

"Fair enough." She admitted throwing a stern glare at Carter they left the exam room.

"How old are you anyway?" He asked as his laughing subsided.

"Twenty-Two." She answered.

"You look young for twenty-two." He correctly observed.

"I've nearly always looked slightly younger than I am. It's a trait I inherited from my mother." She explained.

"We gotta get an LP kit from the storage cupboard first." He told her, redirecting her before they reached curtains.

They both squeezed into the small cupboard and began to look for an LP kit. "Someone really out to tidy this place up." Paige complained as her body brushed against his.

"Tell me about it!" He agreed. "Oh sorry." He muttered as his hand grazed her breast as he reached to a higher shelf.

"It's okay." She mumbled back despite the fact she had blushed a violent shade of pink.

"Got one." He retrieved the kit from the higher shelf he had reached to.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The cupboard door had opened and a very smug looking Simon Brenner was stood there.

Paige flattened herself against the shelves so she was as far away from Carter as the small cupboard would allow. "We were looking for an LP kit, this cupboard is a mess." She avoided making eye contact with either of colleagues.

"Whatever." Brenner said with a chuckle and allowed the pair to sidle out before they going into the tiny cupboard himself. "God she's right, this place is a mess." He muttered to himself.

"I'm gonna show you how to do the tap this time then at the next opportunity you're up."

"Sure." She managed to utter through a yawn.

He chuckled. "You're still tired huh?"

"You woke me up at two in the morning of what was going to be the first decent nights sleep I've had in two months." She replied sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey kiddo, how you doing?" Carter asked as they entered curtain one and saw the little boy curled on the bed.

"He's really tired aren't you Jamie? But his condition deteriorated in the last few hours so I thought I'd better bring him in." The boys mother told the two doctors as she fondly stroked her sons hair.

"Don't worry you did the right thing. I'm gonna do a spinal tap to check if it's meningitis. If it is meningitis you've brought him in early so he's got a good prognosis." He explained.

"So he's going to be okay?" The mother asked concerned.

"He's gonna be fine. If it is meningitis we'll get him on a course of treatment straight away. If it's not meningitis it's a really bad fever and I'll get you a prescription for some antibiotics." He explained to the anxious mother what the course of action would be.

"Thank-you." She smiled gratefully.

"Okay mom if you could hold Jamie still from the front, hold his arms still I'm just going to give him a small injection that will numb the area. You come round here beside me Paige." He gave the boy the smaller injection to his back and they waited a few minutes for the anaesthetic to take effect.

"Now you insert the needle here between the vertebrae and slowly push the needle in, keeping it parallel to the bed, until you feel a small pop. Once you feel the pop gently and slowly pull this end of the syringe to extract the spinal fluid. Once you have the fluid carefully pull the needle out and hold a small piece of cotton wool at the puncture for a few minutes in case there is any bleeding." He talked Paige through the lumbar puncture as he performed it and she held a little piece of cotton wool to the puncture mark.

"See that? Crystal clear, that's how it should be done." He showed her the fluid in the syringe. "Well done Jamie you've been a really brave boy." He grinned and gently ruffled the boys hair.

"Now we get this sent off to the lab." Carter slipped they syringe into a plastic bag and labelled it with Jamie's name.

"We?" She asked apprehensively.

He looked down at her tired face, his expression gentle. "Do you wanna go take a nap?" He asked softly.

She nodded, staring up at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Frank what's open?" He asked as they leaned against the desk.

"Exam two and five." Frank responded automatically.

"I'll take two." She yawned.

Carter grinned. "Get out of here."

"Night." She said as she retreated down the corridor.

"Night." He replied.

Once in Exam Two she flicked off the lights, lay down on the bed, draping her lab coat over her body and fell asleep almost instantly.

AN: Apologies if Brenner is out of character, I don't know the character very well. Please R&R!


	4. Good Morning

AN: Again sorry for the length of time it is taking me to update. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters only Dr Paige Staker.

There She Goes

Chapter 4 - Good Morning

"Paige? Sweetie?" Morris whispered as her gently brushed her hair away from her face. She looked peaceful despite the dark circles beginning to form under her eyes.

"Come on, time to get up." He continued in a whisper.

"Morris?" She began to stir but kept her eyes closed. "What time is it?"

"Almost nine." He informed her as she pushed herself into a seated position using her elbows.

"Oh my God!" She ran a hand through her messy blonde locks and swung her legs over the side of the bed, pulling her lab coat on as she stood up.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be on till twelve?" Morris asked confused as he watched his young friend attempt to smooth her hair down.

"I _was_ supposed to be on at twelve but Carter needed an extra pair of hands." She replied agitated.

"So he called you, his student, instead of a resident or an attending?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Paige shrugged. "Don't ask me, I don't know how his mind works."

"Maybe it's because he knows you wouldn't say no to him. You would dutifully do anything he asked you to do, wouldn't you?" He pointed out.

Paige remained silent. Morris was right.

"I have to tell you something." She said, suddenly feeling very small.

"Okay." He replied calmly as she sat on the bed beside him, smoothing out her creased lab coat.

"I think I like Carter." She said barely audible, while staring at the floor. "As in _like_, like him." She finished softly.

Morris took one of her hands in his. "I think you like him too. But, you know nothing can happen right? He said tentatively.

She nodded slowly, still not meeting his gaze.

"Cause if anything happens you'll both be out on your asses before you can say Emergency Room." He told her seriously, keeping her hand in his.

"I know, I know! God what am I going to do?" She moaned.

"Try to stay composed around him, be careful you don't get too touchy feely with him in public. You don't want anyone you don't trust picking up on your feelings for him." He told her truthfully as their eyes finally met.

"Okay." She said slowly. "But what do I tell Carter? Do I tell him I like him, or do I keep my mouth shut?" She asked, looking confused and slightly naïve, but never taking her eyes from Morris'.

"That's up to you. I can tell you whether or not to confide in Carter how you feel if you don't know how he's going to react. You can always come to me and talk about it; I'd rather you did than bottling everything up." Morris flashed a small smile.

"Morris, you're such a good friend!" She hugged herself close to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "How'd you get to be so wise?"

"I dunno. I guess it's something that comes with age." He mused as they separated from their hug.

"So what, I'm not gonna be wise till I'm forty?" She said seriously, eyebrow raised.

"Hey you! Less of the cheek I'm not forty." He playfully slapped her arm.

"I know, I'm kidding!" She gave a gentle laugh.

"Come on, we've been summoned. That's why I woke you." He stood up and held out a hand.

"Summoned by who?" Paige asked apprehensively as she took his hand and he pulled her up off the bed.

"Brenner." He stated simply as they exited the exam room.

"Great!" She muttered sarcastically under her breath as they walked to the desk, zoned out on whatever Morris was saying.

"Morris!" Paige hissed grabbing his arm as she saw Carter reach the desk and flash a smile in her direction.

They stopped in their tracks. "What's the matter?" He asked concerned.

"Carter asked me to a dinner at the Carter Center next week and I've already said I would go." She flashed a worried glance from Morris to Carter.

"Well, you've already told him you want to go right? It would look suspicious if you retracted the offer now." He reasoned.

"Right." She agreed.

"Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" He offered, trying to put her at ease.

"I could get really drunk and end up sleeping with him." Paige said, with a hint of sarcasm and a raised eyebrow.

"Pessimist!" He sighed as he half pushed her to the desk.

"Hey." Carter smiled. "You feeling better now you've had some sleep?"

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled back, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You need coffee don't you?" He grinned boyishly.

"God yes!" She admitted under her breath causing them both to laugh.

'I can do this.' Paige thought. 'I'm with him now; we're just talking like friends. Everything's cool.' She smiled at him once again as she noticed his usual charming smile present on his features.

"You know how I said I would make it up to you for coming in early?" He asked in hushed tones.

"Yeah." She replied softly, keeping her eyes focused on his.

"Well how about you stay on till five and I'll take you for dinner or hit a karaoke bar or something?" He asked softly.

"Can I come in for my normal shift tomorrow, no more shift changes?" She asked Carter warily.

"Sure." He promised with a grin.

"Okay then dinner would be nice." She relaxed. If she could get through an intimate dinner with Carter tonight, dinner at the Carter Center would go fine.

"Alright kids." Brenner began, causing everyone to stop talking. "I'm off home, we've got three critical's that you need to chase up ICU beds for, a girl in Curtain Two who needs a cast and a few patients in curtains waiting on x-rays. Goodnight!" He wiped his name off the board, collected his coat from the lounge and left.

"Someone's not in a good mood." Morris commented as soon as Brenner was out of earshot. "Was it a hard night?"

"Not really. He did have a bit of fun tormenting Paige though." Carter commented with a glint in his eye and then received a gentle slap on the arm from Paige.

"Hey!" He complained as he began to rub his arm where Paige had hit him, look of mock hurt on his face.

"You guys still aren't getting on." Morris concluded.

"I have no idea why, the guy really doesn't like me." She shrugged.

"You'll figure out how to get in his good books eventually." Morris tried to convince her.

"Mmm." She shrugged again. "I need coffee." She decided and headed of to the lounge to get coffee.

"Junkie!" Morris and Carter shouted to her retreating figure.

"Whatever!" She called back.

"So, she not getting along very well with Brenner but you two seem to be getting on great." Morris commented to Carter.

"We do get on great. It makes life so much easier for me when I get a student I like and vice versa. She's gonna make a great doctor someday." Carter replied proudly.

"Just be careful. She's still young and innocent, this place hasn't gotten to her yet." Morris warned him.

"What do you mean?" Carter enquired, a hint of a frown playing on his features.

"I mean all the drama. Staff being held at gunpoint by addicts. Illicit affairs between older and younger colleagues." He tried not to hint too heavily toward Paige's specific problem. Both parties involved were his friends. If he told Carter how Paige felt she would feel betrayed and Carter would feel awkward. He would lose out either way.

"So what are you saying? You want me to try and protect her from every challenge the hospital presents her?" Carter folded his arms across his chest.

Morris sighed. "All I'm saying is keep an eye on her. She sees you as her mentor; it will be you she comes to looking for guidance and comfort."

"She'll be fine. She's strong." Carter convinced himself.

"Whatever you say Carter. I'm going to see about this girls cast." He found the chart on the desk and went off to Curtain Two to sort out the young girl.

"What was that about?" Paige asked softly, green eyes sparkling brilliantly.

Carter turned around, startled at hearing her voice. "How long have you been standing there?" He asked her gently.

"Just a few seconds. What was that about?" She asked again.

"Morris is under the impression you're so young and fragile you need someone to constantly baby-sit you." He gestured to himself with his hand.

"Oh my God!" She put her head in her hands. "I'm going to kill him! I'm fine just ignore him." She pleaded, her eyes imploring him to forget what Morris had told him about her.

"Hey calm down that's what I told him." He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Oh." Her expression softened when she realised he had stuck up for her. "Thanks." She smiled.

"You're welcome." He grinned picking up a few charts and holding them out like playing cards. "Now, pick a chart, any chart." He told her playfully.

She grinned, curling her fingers around the middle chart, pulling it out of the stack Carter held. She gave a gentle laugh as her eyes skimmed the chart. "LOL, weak and dizzy all over."

"Need any help?" He enquired.

"I think I'll manage. I'll come find you if I need you." She smiled, flicking her blonde locks from her face as she walked past Carter to find her patient.

He grinned as he watched his young student walk away confidently to deal with her patient alone. "Make sure you consult me if you're unsure of anything, if not you still need me to sign the chart and examine the patient briefly!" He called as she walked away.

"I've got it covered Carter!" Paige twirled round as she walked, turning to look at Carter when she heard his voice.

He shook his head at her and took a few charts from the desk and went to deal with his patients.

The day went in quickly for Paige who had a constant flow of patients to deal with. "Carter!" She caught his arm as he passed her in the corridor. "I need you to sign the chart for my LOL."

"Hand it over." He held his hand out impatiently.

"You're busy." She frowned.

"I've got a minute. To be honest you're making my life easier today doing stuff on your own, I should really be keeping a closer eye on you." He confessed gently as he looked over the chart.

"Blood pressures a little low." He commented, rubbing his eyes then running a hand through his hair.

"Want me to get some more tests done?" She asked as he began to lead her up the corridor.

"No. I'll take a look at her in a bit or I'll pass her onto a resident if I don't have time."

"Are you okay?" She asked gently, looping her fingers around his free hand.

"I'm tired, and I have a lot of patients, one who is critically ill." He detected the worry in her eyes. "I'm fine." He forced a smile and squeezed her hand gently. Sliding his out of hers.

"Only an hour to go." Paige reminded him brightly before wandering back to the desk to grab another chart.

As she was walking towards Exam Two she saw Morris emerging from Curtains. "Morris!" She barked.

"Hey Paige. Who pissed you off?" He noted her tone.

"You did!" She stood in front of him, arms folded.

"Oh." Morris realised what she was referring to. "Paige I'm just . . ."

"Don't you dare!" She cut him off. "Where the _hell_ do you get off telling Carter he needs to keep an eye on me? She hissed under her breath.

"I'm just looking out for you. You're my friend, I care about you. If you get too close to him you're going to get hurt, it's going to break you're heart." He said softly, his eyes pleading with hers.

"You're right. But it's _my_ heart and I'll do what I want thank you! I'm _not_ a child!" She emphasised.

"Paige." Morris whispered gently.

"Leave me alone!" She pushed him away tearfully rushing down the corridor away from him.

"Someone else is going to have to take this patient." She murmured as she pushed the chart into Jerry's hand when she passed the desk, and continued on outside to the ambulance bay. She sat down on a bench. Holding her head in her hands, the tears flowing thick and fast now. In the space of five minutes she had managed to fall out with the person she considered her best friend in the hospital. True, Morris had only been looking out for her but it seemed her heart had overruled her head.

Paige forced her head away from her hands, leaning back against the wall and breathing in the cool evening air. She gently dabbed her wet eyes with the sleeve of her lab coat, mascara transferring from her eyes to her sleeve. She repeated the process on her tear stained cheeks, more mascara staining the sleeve of her lab coat.

"Hey." Came a soft voice next to her.

"Julia, hey." She sniffed. "Sorry." She said, apologetic of her current state.

"I saw your argument with Morris, you looked pretty upset." Julia explained. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." Paige admitted, more tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

Julia sat next to her, wrapping and arm around her shoulders. "You need to stop hanging out with they guys so much. Have a girl's night out, catch up on all the gossip." She tried to comfort her.

"Suppose." Paige muttered sadly.

"I'm really sorry I've gotta go now, I have some studying to do. You gonna be okay?" She asked gently.

"Yeah I'm fine." Paige nodded as Julia stood up.

"You have my cell number right?" She asked. Paige nodded.

"Call me if you need someone to talk to." She smiled brightly.

"Thanks Julia. I need all the friends I can get right now." She admitted truthfully, rubbing her sleeve across her tear stained cheeks once more.

"See you later." Julia smiled before turning round and heading out through the ambulance bay.

After calming down she headed back inside, straight into the lounge, dumping her lab coat in her locker and pulling on her leather jacket, grabbing her bag afterwards. Carter came in just behind her whipping off his lab coat and blood soaked shirt. Paige gasped as she saw his toned body.

"Hey I'll just be a sec." He told her, pulling on a clean scrub top and then shrugging into his outdoor jacket. "Where do you want to go for dinner?" He asked.

"Screw dinner, let's hit a bar." She replied.

"It's not really been a great day has it." Carter asked.

"No, it hasn't." She sighed.

"Let's go." He agreed.

AN: This chapter has been changed slightly just towards the end, not much and not really integral to the plot, just to let you know.


	5. Revelations

AN: Again sorry for the length of time it is taking me to update. This was originally supposed to be part of chapter 4, but for some reason I put up chapter 4 without this part, so it's now a separate chapter. Chapter 6 coming soon. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters only Dr Paige Staker.

There She Goes

Chapter 5 - Revelations

Paige and Carter walked a short distance from the hospital and ended up in Ikes.

"We can grab a burger then get some drinks in." Carter explained as he pushed the door open for her. "It's not wise to drink on an empty stomach."

"Guess you're right." She replied as they took a seat, shrugging out of her jacket.

"Hi! What can I get you?" The waitress asked them brightly.

"Can we see a menu please?" He asked politely.

"Of course, can I get you anything to drink?" She asked.

"Vodka and coke, please?" Paige asked softly.

"I'll have a coke." He replied.

"Coming up." The waitress smiled at them as she made a note of their drinks on her notepad.

"So, why did your day suck?" He asked her, taking his jacket off.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Tiredness, general medical student scut I ended up doing for the residents, mainly falling out with Morris. He was one of the only people in the hospital I truly considered as a friend." She confessed, as she rested her head in her hand.

"Thanks." Carter smiled to the waitress as she placed their drinks on the table and handed a menu to each of them.

He turned his attention back to Paige. "I'm sure you guys will make up. What caused the fallout?" He asked softly.

"A few contributing factors." She confessed. "Him trying to protect me, you." She admitted softly, letting her eyes fall to her menu, beginning to study it intensely.

"Me?" Carter chuckled softly. "Why?" He sounded confused.

"He thinks I have a crush on you." She said as casually as she could manage, still studying her menu.

"Do you?" He kept his voice level as he asked her, his expression gentle.

"Of course not. Even if I did, student-teacher relationships are against the rules, I'm not stupid enough to put your job and my ER Rotation, even graduating from Med School, at risk." She spoke quickly, her eyes darting from the menu to his and back to the menu.

"Okay, I was only asking. It wouldn't have bothered me much if you did; I've had med students before who have had crushes on me. I even fell for one of my residents when I was a med student. It happens more often than you think." He informed Paige, setting his eyes on his menu.

"What did she do?" Paige asked intrigued, eyes wide with anticipation.

"Who?" He asked, not completely following her train of thought.

"The resident, the one you fell for? Did she know you liked her?" Paige enquired.

"Yes, she knew I liked her and she actually liked me too. But one Christmas Eve we nearly kissed, and she told me we were both being stupid. She was right of course but I didn't believe that at the time." He admitted with a shrug.

"Wow. Would you have had a fling with her if she let you?" Paige decided to push her luck and pry some more.

"Definitely. I was young and naïve. The funny thing is, I did end up dating her for a while when I was a resident." Carter smiled at the memory.

"These things have a funny way of working themselves out if they're meant to be." She grinned, secretly hoping something similar would happen between Carter and herself.

"Maybe." He mused, sounding as if he were deep in thought.

"Excuse me, are you ready to order?" The young waitress interrupted Carter's thoughts.

"Um, yeah. I'll have a cheeseburger and some fries, Paige?" He asked as he handed his menu back to the waitress.

"The chicken fajitas and fries please" She said politely, as she returned her menu to the waitress.

"Coming up." She smiled down at them.

Paige sighed gently, resting her head in her hand once more, closing her eyes.

"You look exhausted." Carter commented after taking a sip of his coke.

"I am. You interrupted the first decent night's sleep I was going to have since I started me ER Rotation." She replied lazily, without opening her eyes, evidently too tired to argue with him again.

"I should have just taken you home. We could have gone out another night." He said softly, concerned for her wellbeing.

"That's okay. You can take me home after dinner. Here's my address, in case I fall asleep right here right now." She muttered as she pulled a pen out of her bag and messily scrawled her address on a napkin that was on the table and handing it to Carter.

"Thanks." He accepted the napkin from her without argument and as soon as her eyes shut once more he grinned, evidently amused at her actions.

They ate quietly once their food arrived, making small talk about her ER Rotation and med school.

"Do you know what your next rotation is?" He asked as he nibbled on his fries.

"NICU. I'm really not looking forward to it at all, all those tiny fragile babies. It's just a really daunting prospect." She shuddered at the thought as she dipped a fry into some ketchup and popped it in her mouth.

"I don't envy you. I had a baby that died, a son, six years ago. Preemies always remind me of him, they affect me more than any other patients." He whispered gently, a tear slowly escaping from his eye and making its way down his cheek.

"Carter, I'm so sorry." She gasped, unsure how to react. She had not been expecting him to share something so personal with her; they hadn't known each other all that long. She frowned and tentatively reached for his hand that was rested on the table.

He clasped her soft, warm hand gently as her skin came into contact with his. "Thank you." He flashed her a soft smile.

Paige reached across the table with her free hand and carefully brushed the tear away from Carter's cheek with her fingertips. "What was his name, your son?" She asked softly, her green eyes sparkling gently.

"Joshua Carter." He cleared his throat. "I named the Carter Center after him." His eyes dropped from hers. She reached over, sweeping more tears away from under his eyes.

"That's lovely." She smiled. "I'm sure you would have been an amazing dad."

"Thanks." He sniffed and wiped his eyes himself this time. "My wife always found it really tough to talk about him, but; even though it hurts me I like to remember him." Carter explained.

"You're married?" She asked surprised, her face falling slightly.

"We're separated actually. I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind."

"Okay." Paige replied simply, retracting her hand from his and they both went back to eating in silence.

After they had finished eating Carter paid their bill and offered to give Paige a lift home. "My car is back at the hospital. I can give you a ride home if you like." He smiled gently.

"Thanks that would be great." She replied quietly, taking him up on his offer.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight, talking about your wife and child." Paige told him, gazing out of the window of his jeep as he drove her back to her apartment.

"You didn't make me talk about it; I decided to share it with you." He told her, concentrating hard on his driving.

"Can I share something with you?" She enquired, turning her gaze to him.

"If you're in the mood for sharing, sure. " He replied, relaxing a little now the topic of the conversation was away from him.

"It might actually be easier for me to show you. I haven't told anyone at the hospital." She said shyly.

"Why so cryptic?" He asked confused.

"Because, it's private. I find this particularly hard to tell people I don't know very well." She told him truthfully, gazing out of the window once more.

"Then, why are you telling me?" He enquired, stealing a glance at her.

"Because I trust you." She whispered her reply.

"Okay." He accepted her answer.

"Come on." She said once they had come to a stop outside her apartment, she held her hand out to him as he got out of the car.

Carter didn't know what had possessed him as he accepted her outstretched hand and she began to lead him up to her apartment. Something about Paige really intrigued him and he was drawn to her, but he didn't know why.

"Two seconds." She dropped his hand and began to fumble about in her bag for her keys. Once she had unlocked the door and pushed it open, she reached tentatively for his hand. He smiled reassuringly and took her hand once more. Paige smiled back and pulled him inside her apartment, kicking the door shut behind her.

"What did you want to show me?" Carter asked her softly, still holding her hand. "This." She led him to her bedroom, picked up a photo frame and handed it to him.

He smiled. "Is this you?" They sat down on her bed side by side.

"Yep." She confirmed with a small smile.

"How old are you there?" He enquired.

"That's my twentieth birthday actually." Paige informed him.

"You look cute. Your hair is really long." The word "cute" slipped out of his mouth before he realised he said it.

"Thanks." She grinned, blushing slightly.

"And who is that in the picture with you?" Carter continued to fire questions at her.

"My college boyfriend, Matt."

"And the kid?" He pointed to the baby she was holding in the picture.

Paige took a deep breath and managed to compose herself. "She's my daughter." She whispered incredibly softly, her big green eyes never leaving Carter's brown ones, nervously awaiting his reaction.

"Your daughter? " He repeated, stunned.

"Yes." She breathed.

"Wow! What's her name? How old is she now?" He asked rapidly, keeping his eyes on hers.

"She's called Dana, she's three." She told him.

"Which means you were…?" He trailed off.

"Nineteen." She finished.

"Nineteen" He repeated, closing his eyes. He inhaled deeply.

Paige shut her eyes too, a few tears escaping.

"Hey! What's with the tears?" He put the photo down and pulled her into his arms. He could feel her small body shuddering against his.

"I don't like telling people about her because I get scared about their reactions." She explained as she clung to him desperately.

"I'm not judging you. Teenagers can be great mothers; you're not even a teenager any more." He said softly, rubbing soothing circles with his fingertips on the small of her back.

"I'm still young though, and I don't see her as much as I'd like to." She continued to sob.

"Where is she?" He asked tentatively, still holding her close.

"She lives in New York, with her father. He's a doctor too, second year resident. The only reason she stays with him is because I can't afford to look after her here in Chicago by myself. "She explained.

"Couldn't he stay in Chicago for you? I mean, he obviously loved you if you guys had a child together so young." Carter asked as they separated from their hug, taking her hands in his.

"He matched at his dream hospital in New York. I encouraged him to go and it made sense for Dana to go with him. She confessed.

"You obviously love her very much." He observed.

"I do, more than anything in the world. But good mom's are there for their kids." Her tears started to flow thick and fast again.

"She's in New York, you're here. I'm sure you see her as often as you can." Carter tried to reason with her sobbing form.

"Plane tickets to New York are expensive!" She announced bitterly as she tried to stem the flow of tears.

"I could by you a two way ticket to New York." He offered gently.

"No. Thank-you its very kind but I couldn't accept it from you." Paige choked through her tears. Carter let go of her hands and gently began to wipe the tears away from her face.

"You, are covered, in mascara." He gently tried to wipe her face clean in between words. She chuckled softly as Carter wiped her face and a pink blush crept up on her tear stained cheeks.

"That's more like it. Bit of a smile." Carter grinned.

"Thank-you." Paige smiled sweetly at Carter. "For being so nice, and getting yourself covered in mascara." She gestured to his hands.

"That's what friends are for." He told her gently.

"Friends?" She questioned.

"I'm, drawn to you for some reason, I can't work out why." He frowned, frustrated. "But you're young and sweet and I find it quite refreshing to hang out with you." He told her genuinely.

"Oh." She smiled, surprised that he felt this way about her, but happy nonetheless. "Thanks, I guess."

"Well I guess I should go home and get to bed. I have a nine o'clock shift tomorrow." Carter said getting up from her bed, lifting the photo frame from where he had discarded it and placed it back on her bedside cabinet.

"See you tomorrow." Paige said softly, also standing up.

Carter gently linked their hands together, causing her to blush once more. "What time are you on tomorrow?" He asked, as they gently played with each others fingers.

"Twelve." She replied, looking intently into his eyes.

"I'd love to see some recent pictures of your daughter if you have any." He told her, still playing with her fingers and looking into her eyes.

"I'll bring some in tomorrow." She confirmed.

"See you tomorrow then." He grinned and dropped her hand gently.

She crossed her arms and whispered "Bye." As she heard the door click shut.

She sighed and brushed her hair away from her face with her hand. "I'm well and truly falling for him." She muttered to herself as she flopped down on her bed. She laid there for a few minutes thinking over her relationship with Carter. 'I know I shouldn't be interested in him, he's my attending and I'm a third year medical student. It's completely against the rules! But sometimes in life, you can't help which way you fall.' She thought to herself. Eventually Paige tore her thoughts from Carter and began to get ready for bed. She wiped her mascara streaked face clean with a cleansing make-up wipe and applied some moisturiser to her fresh skin. After this she brushed her teeth, them shimmied out of her skirt and collapsed into bed, pulling the quilt over her and falling asleep almost instantly. Her dreams plagued with images of John Carter.


End file.
